Finding a Way Home
by WolfWing
Summary: Thanks to an invention by the resident mad inventor, Keitaro and Motoko find themselves far from home. Just to survive they will have to rely on each other. But how do they get home when they don't even know where they are?
1. The Marvelous Toy

Disclaimer:

All intellectual and property rights of Love Hina belongs to Ken Akamatsu. Manga and anime rights belong to whomever holds them for each country or region. The world of Love Hina is being used without permission and without the intent of infringing upon these rights. No profit is being made. If you recognize it, it belongs to Ken Akamatsu. If you don't recognize it, there is still a strong chance it belongs to Akamatsu. The seldom and rare things that Akamatsu doesn't claim as his own and could be construed as mine I release to Public Domain.

This work was not beta read. If you, the reader, find anything in error, feel free to let me know and I will endeavor to fix it if I can. As such, thank you for making this better for the next reader. Those who wish to beta read this story merely has to let me know.

Chapter One:  
It went zip when it moved and bop when it stopped  
whirl when it stood still  
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will

Su yanked the cover off of her latest contraption, revealing it to her, literally, captive audience. "Voila! The Su-O-Tron 2000 prototype."

Keitaro began to panic. "What does it do?" he asked as he struggled against his bonds, but the ropes held fast.

"No idea."

"No idea?" This reply gave Keitaro a bad feeling.

"Nope, nuh-uh, none." Su shook her head emphatically. "The plans came to me in a dream. I quickly jotted them down before going back to sleep. I've forgotten the dream, but luckily I still have the plans." Su held up some crumpled paper with unintelligible scribblings on it, and plenty of banana stains as well.

Keitaro began to sweat faster. "Well, I'd love to stay and watch, but I better go clean the hot springs. Maybe you can untie me now?"

Su pressed a button; the machine began to hum and vibrate. "Nonsense, it only needs to warm up. This won't take long at all."

Suddenly, Naru and Motoko stormed the living room. "Why isn't the hot springs clean, you lazy good for nothing?" Naru demanded.

"You worthless, loathsome male. Can you not meet a simple responsibility? Wasting your time by playing instead of doing work." Motoko punctuated her statement by swinging her sword through the air in a chi attack. Keitaro was knocked over by the rock-cutting blade, and in the process the ropes binding him were cut. Su, thinking and acting quickly, lifted her invention out of the way to avoid Keitaro crashing into it.

"You're all in time to see my amazingly stupendous demonstration," Su hawked in joyful glee.

Keitaro got up, rubbing his head where it hurt. "Not now Su, got work to do."

"What does it do?" Motoko bent to get a closer look at the device.

A bell on the machine dinged. At that same time, Keitaro's feet got tangled up in the pieces of rope on the floor and he tripped into Motoko. Both collided with the Su-O-Tron 2000, which flashed brightly when it was jarred.

Rubbing spots out of their eyes, Su and Naru found themselves alone in the room. Keitaro, Motoko, and Su's creation were missing. "I guess I won't find out if it does make banana flavored ice cream," Su lamented.

* * *

"Get off me, you lechorous, perverted ..."

Keitaro quickly shrank back, covering himself with his arms as he trembled in fear. "I'm sorry, it was just an accident. Honest!" he protested. So caught up was he in apologizing, he was unaware of his surroundings as he cowered and groveled on the ground. He hadn't even noticed the way Motoko trailed off in confusion and shock.

"Keitaro?" Motoko's stunned voice was filled with something Keitaro had never heard in her voice before: fear. Even more noteworthy, Motoko hadn't called him names or used his last name; she had called him by his first name, something she never did before. "Where are we?"

"What do you mean..." Without an attack coming and Motoko behaving oddly, Keitaro finally lowered his arms and now he could see where he was for the first time.

They no longer were at the Hinata Dorms. Instead, they found themselves outside, some place strange and alien. The abrasive sand underneath was a ruddy brown. A foul smelling wind blew through the nearby crags and clefts in the strangely glossy rocks. The sky had an orange tint to it, and seemed heavy with some sort of chemical smog. The pieces of Su's machine laid forlornly at their feet.

Keitaro felt a burning in his chest and began to gulp air like he was drowning, although he had plenty of air to breathe. Feeling light headed, he sat down.

Motoko squatted by him. "We must be high in some mountains. Oxygen is thinner here. We must conserve ourselves until our bodies adapt. Be careful not to overdo any activity."

Keitaro nodded. "We can't stay here; we need to find our way home."

"Agreed," Motoko replied without hesitation. Keitaro noticed that she seemed pale and her eyes were glazed over and listless. "Just ... let me catch my breath first."

While waiting, and resting as well, Keitaro fiddled with the pieces of Su's artifact. "Looks kind of like it exploded. Though I think we would have remembered if it did," he said conversationally. Keitaro waited for a reply, but Motoko remained silent. He frowned at the lack of response and looked over to her.

She sat like a statue, still and unmoving, but as Keitaro watched she tipped over and fell to the ground with a meaty thud. Her body bounced, but otherwise laid unresponsive. Keitaro began to panic. "Motoko, don't die! Stay away from the light!" he screamed as he slapped her face. However, Keitaro got no response from the fallen swords-woman. "What do I do now?" he thought in panic. The first thing that had come to mind was CPR. Keitaro was not really trained in it, but he knew the basic idea. Taking a deep breathe, he inhaled a mouthful of abrasive sand, which the wind was kicking up. Coughing and spluttering, he hacked up to clean his mouth. Trying a second time, Keitaro managed to breathe in a lungful of air before successfully exhaling it gently into Motoko's open mouth. A second breath followed by a third finally rewarded Keitaro with a twitch from Motoko. Emboldened, he pressed on.

After his seventh time breathing into Motoko's mouth, she coughed weakly. Swatting him with her right hand, she hoarsely cried, "Pervert!" A fit of coughing followed. Motoko made a slight gagging noise, so Keitaro breathed for her once more. Motoko tried to push him away, but couldn't muster the strength.

Keitaro took another deep breath. "Stop," Motoko desperately cried, her voice soft and weak.

"But you'll die," Keitaro protested. The he bent down to administer more air to her. As he released more life-giving breath into her lungs, Motoko came to a decision. There was a chi technique she was familiar with, useful out in the field when someone was seriously injured. It allowed a healthy person to sync their body with the injured person. In this manner, the healthy person's heart beat would keep the injured person's heart beating and their breath kept the injured party breathing. The two hearts and lungs kept time, like some sort of metaphysical iron lung. This had kept many a warrior alive until they could receive medical assistance. This time, though, Motoko would need to apply it backwards as she was the injured party. Something she had never attempted before. She focused her chi and directed it, searching for Keitaro's center.

As Keitaro came up for another lungful of air, he felt a funny sort of tingling pass through him, from his belly button out. Motoko's hand on his chest arrested his downward movement, and he saw her shake her head. "I'm fine now."

Keitaro didn't quite believe her. "You sure?"

She nodded affirmative. "Hmm," she hummed as she bit her lower lip. A pensive look stole across her face. "You have some sort of old chi-path, unused for nearly fifteen years. It's atrophied, but still functional." Keitaro did not know how to reply as Motoko lapsed into silence. "There, that ought to ... Oh! You used to be able to extend your immortality into others."

"I'm not immortal," Keitaro modestly objected.

Motoko scoffed, "Says the man not dieing from oxygen deprivation and somehow able to breathe for two people when there isn't enough oxygen for one. If I can direct some of your chi out through that tap ... there, done. Now help me up."

"Are you OK?" Keitaro inquired as he gave Motoko a hand up.

"I'll live as long as you do. So, I must stress the importance of being careful!"

"Huh? Why?'

"Because I've synced my body to yours. If you die, so will I. Therefore, I can't stress enough the-"

"What?" Keitaro interrupted her as he shot backwards, jumpy once more. "What does that mean?"

Motoko sighed. "Keitaro, calm down. Getting worked up won't solve anything. There is this technique of the Shinmeiryu. It allows one to do the living for two people: hearts beat together, lungs breathe together, and life-force flows together. Even when the injured person's body can't do those things, say for example, the lungs are full of blood. The technique still helps to keep them from slipping into death. As such, as long as you live, I live. And just as I have connected our centers, I have also tapped unto your healing ability. I'm receiving partial benefit of your hardiness. But both will be gone if you die. So please, whatever you do, be careful!"

Keitaro simply nodded his head, too overwhelmed to speak. Motoko, meanwhile, brushed the sand off of her clothes. "Now that that obstacle is settled, let us see about finding some help."

"Where do you think we are?" Keitaro anxiously asked.

Motoko shrugged, then all color drained from her face. A rattling gasp escaped her throat. Keitaro thought she was relapsing until he saw her shaking hand come up to point urgently.

Looking over, Keitaro was in shock to see what it was that had spooked Motoko so badly. Through the haze, he could clearly see two suns. One was larger and more blue; the other was smaller and more red.

"Where ever we are, it isn't Earth," Motoko quietly mentioned in a stunned voice.

Revised March 1st, 2010 for minor typos and minimal rewording


	2. Who Says You can't Go Home?

Disclaimer:

All intellectual and property rights of Love Hina belongs to Ken Akamatsu. Manga and anime rights belong to whomever holds them for each country or region. The world of Love Hina is being used without permission and without the intent of infringing upon these rights. No profit is being made. If you recognize it, it belongs to Ken Akamatsu. If you don't recognize it, there is still a strong chance it belongs to Akamatsu. The seldom and rare things that Akamatsu doesn't claim as his own and could be construed as mine I release to Public Domain.

This work was not beta read. If you, the reader, find anything in error, feel free to let me know and I will endeavor to fix it if I can. As such, thank you for making this better for the next reader. Those who wish to beta read this story merely has to let me know.

Chapter 2:  
Who says you can't go back,  
been all around the world and as a matter of fact  
There's only one place left I want to go,  
who says you can't go home

The phone rang shrilly, breaking the heavy silence of the deathly grim Hinata Dorms. Naru, who was closest to the phone, lethargically got up to answer it. Everyone was depressed, worried about their friends, and none knew what could have happened to them. It was the not knowing of their fates, this lack of closure, that weighed heaviest on their hearts. Motoko and Keitaro couldn't be dead; there were no bodies. That was the solitary hope that each one held onto.

"Hello?" Naru stifled a yawn. She had little motivation in the days since the accident.

"Hello," a voice that Naru almost recognized greeted her. Perhaps it was the static and poor connection that made it hard for her to place the voice. "Is this the Hinata Dorms?" The voice was tentative and unsure, as if the speaker was trying to remember something.

"Yeah," Naru responded without even trying to be polite. "How can I help you?"

The voice sighed in relief. "Keitaro, I've reached them," the voice said, muted as if talking to someone else on the other side of the line.

"Oh, good," another voice softly replied. It was a man's voice, barely audible above the static.

"Hello – uh – Keitaro and I will be home as soon as we can get a train."

Naru perked up immediately; she could now place Motoko's voice, though it did sound off. Naru rationalized to herself, thinking, "Maybe it is the connection."

"Motoko?" The question was uttered with both anticipation and anxiety; it was full of hope to be correct and trepidation of being wrong. "Is that you?"

"Yes, yes it is. Keitaro is here with me too."

"How ... how are you? Are you OK? Keitaro didn't try anything funny, did he?"

A chuckle greeted her, one that did little to set her heart at ease. "Well ... uh ... who is this, again?"

Naru figured that the poor connection was masking her own voice as it had masked Motoko's from her. "Naru."

"Ah, yes. Naru. We are both fine. Uh ... how long has it been since we were gone?"

"Four days." Naru answered, confused and worried by the question.

"She says it has been four days," Motoko mentioned, obviously speaking to Keitaro.

"Uh, Motoko? Where are you? What happened? Why don't you know how long you have been gone?"

"Su's device transported us ... somewhere far from civilization. Uh ... when we awoke, we were unsure of how long we might have been out. I finally found a pay phone; Keitaro was no help as usual. We'll have to deal with getting some money next. We will need some funds to travel by. Once that is done, we can take a train. We just wanted to let everyone know that we were alright and that we will be home soon."

"When?"

"Oh ... well, I was thinking of stopping by Kyoto first. It is on the way and I have family there. After Keitaro and I get married, we'll come home. Oh, look, I'm almost out of time for this call. Got to go. See you all soon. Bye bye."

"Wait," Naru shouted into the phone, "What do you mean get married? You didn't say married, did you? It sounded like you said you were getting married – to Keitaro." But all Naru heard in reply was a dial tone.

* * *

_**An unknown number of light years away and over a century into the past**_

* * *

Motoko and Keitaro stumbled upon some sort of structure built into the mountain side. They'd been wandering for three days now without any food or water, and they were feeling the strain of it.

"I'm so hungry that if I didn't depend on you being alive, I'd have eaten you by now," Motoko grumbled.

Keitaro only grunted in reply. Neither held out much hope of surviving for much longer. That was when they registered that there was something present that didn't appear like the rock formations they had been seeing. Keitaro would have said it looked man-made, except he doubted there were any humans on the alien planet besides himself and Motoko.

"Do you think it is safe?" Keitaro asked his companion.

"Right now, I don't even care. It is someplace out of the elements. No wind, no sand, and some shade."

"But what if we die here?"

"Gotta die somewhere."

It was a testament to how hopeless their situation was when Keitaro merely shrugged his agreement. The two picked their way carefully towards the large edifice. Upon reaching the nearest wall, they found no openings in it.

"Shall we walk around?" Keitaro asked.

Motoko nodded. "Can't hurt. What else is there to do?"

"Which way do you want to go? To the left or the right?"

"Downhill is to the left. Let us go in that direction." Motoko turned and paced along the wall, not waiting for Keitaro to reply.

Keitaro followed and, not for the first time since arriving planet-side, he tripped and fell on Motoko, stripping the Hakama off of her in the process.

"Won't you ever learn? You lecherous, perverted, idiotic male!" Motoko growled as she thrashed Keitaro about his heads and shoulders with her sheathed katana. Her only concession to requiring Keitaro to be healthy enough for her own survival was a mitigation in the severity of her attacks and an avoidance of chi-enhanced attacks in case they accidentally disrupted the chi-binding that kept her alive.

"Ow, ow, ow. Sorry! I tripped on a rock," Keitaro apologized to his upset companion from the ground where he sat.

Motoko yanked her pants back up and snorted. "You and your weak excuses." She replaced her sword back to her side. "You're such a clumsy oaf. Can't you be more careful? I don't want to die merely because you trip off of a cliff like the dammed fool you are."

Petulantly turning her back on Keitaro, Motoko continued her exploration without even worrying if Keitaro was getting up or not. Keitaro did get up, hastily, and brushed the sharp sand off of his clothes as he hurried to catch up to Motoko. "Heh, heh, heh," he sheepishly giggled as he followed the swords-woman once more.

The structure was big and tall. It also seemed to be all one piece, as Motoko couldn't detect even the faintest hint of fine joints in the wall. It was ruddy like the sand and rocks, but of a paler shade. Onward the duo explored, looking for a way in.

Keitaro's mind drifted once more to the shabby condition of their clothing. Exposure to the wind and abrasive sand was wearing them out quickly. "I wonder what will last longer, us or our clothes?" Keitaro knew that without food and water, they would not last much longer. He was surprised they had lasted this long.

A loud, vibrating noise interrupted his musings. The two accidental vagabonds looked at each other in confusion. With a shrug, Motoko quietly led Keitaro around an oblique corner towards where the sound was coming from. They were both shocked to find a hovering platform. Strange beings crowded on top, one of whom sat in an egg-shaped harness situated in the very center of the platform's top. Motoko assumed it must be the pilot of the alien machinery. With a roaring thrum, the transport sped off over the barren landscape. A nearby grinding noise alerted the two that possibly a door was closing. Rushing the rest of the way around the corner, they could see a large bay in the wall with a door, made from some kind of polished material, descending from the top. With a run, the two ducked into the building before the doorway could be sealed.

Keitaro and Motoko found themselves in a cavernous space. More of the hovering machines lay silently upon the floor, waiting to be used next. When the door closed completely, it shut out all of the outside light, throwing the room into dimness but not darkness. The two travelers waited for their eyes to adjust. Lamps put out a feeble blue light that failed to banish all of the darkness.

"Well... it is cooler in here. Think there is any water? I'm thirsty," Keitaro commented just, to fill the heavy silence.

"Let us hope we can find some water," Motoko replied, her words swallowed in the sacred hush of the room. "Let's go." She pointed down the aisle that ran between the machines and ended at the door they had just entered by.

Keitaro nodded. "Think the people who live here are friendly?"

Motoko shrugged before reaching for her sword. "If not ... well, they can try."

The two paced onwards into the dim silence of the alien vault. They were the only movement in a still room. The aisle ended at an opening in a wall, beyond which they found themselves in a hallway that was as equally dim as the first chamber. Small circles lined the walls at about a foot overhead; they glowed feebly in a indigo-violet light. Motoko's white gi seemed to faintly glow in the patches not encrusted with sand grains.

"Black light?" Keitaro mused out loud. While it was meant as a rhetorical question, Motoko answered with a non-committal grunt.

Looking both ways, Keitaro decided to go left as either direction was equally mysterious, and left worked well enough for them before. The two walked in companionable silence, overly aware of their surroundings.

When the hall ended, they turned the corner into another corridor. They could see, up ahead, more blueish-purple light spilling from an opening in the wall, a doorway of sorts. An odd, otherworldly noise seemed to come from the room beyond.

Keitaro looked at Motoko; Motoko looked at Keitaro. They only stared at each other for an instant before nodding. Keitaro did not know for sure what Motoko meant, but his educated guess of "be careful" was not that far off. Motoko rested her right hand upon the hilt of her sword, while her left gripped the scabbard. She positioned herself with her back to the wall. Seeing this, Keitaro copied her movement and stood against the opposite wall. Slowly, the two slid along the wall, creeping down the hall and getting closer to the open room.

They never did get to see who or what was in that room, for suddenly a shocking sensation – like a strong electrical current – coursed through their bodies. Their muscles locked up to the point where neither could utter any sound as their jaws clamped tightly shut and their ribs refused to inhale. Blissfully, the sensation of being electrocuted only lasted a couple moments before darkness overtook them and they collapsed unconscious onto the floor.

Revised on March 1st, 2010 for typos


	3. Pill Poppin'

Disclaimer:

All intellectual and property rights of Love Hina belongs to Ken Akamatsu. Manga and anime rights belong to whomever holds them for each country or region. The world of Love Hina is being used without permission and without the intent of infringing upon these rights. No profit is being made. If you recognize it, it belongs to Ken Akamatsu. If you don't recognize it, there is still a strong chance it belongs to Akamatsu. The seldom and rare things that Akamatsu doesn't claim as his own and could be construed as mine I release to Public Domain.

This work was not beta read. If you, the reader, find anything in error, feel free to let me know and I will endeavor to fix it if I can. As such, thank you for making this better for the next reader. Those who wish to beta read this story merely has to let me know.

Chapter 3:  
I get knocked down,  
but I get up again.  
You can never keep me down!

Keitaro groaned as he came to. Blinking, he noticed the lack of wind – a constant in those days since the accident – followed quickly by the smooth wall he had slept next to and the ceiling overhead. "Did Motoko find ..." he began to think when he remembered how they had found a structure during their exploration and that a jolt of electricity was the last thing he remembered.

Anxious, he shot up. Looking over, he saw Motoko resting peacefully against the opposite wall. Like himself, she was sleeping on a hard platform that jutted out from the wall about a meter off the floor. He could see no windows or doors. One wall glittered, which he hadn't seen any of the other walls do. It had a sheen of multicolored twinkling that hurt the eyes to stare at. The discs that provided the pale illumination were on the other three walls, still glowing with the same blue-violet hue.

"It's a cell," he thought to himself. "Where are we? What is to be done with us?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Motoko's groans. Getting off of his cot-of-sorts, he went to stand by hers. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he leaned over her.

Motoko, seeing Keitaro's face first thing when she awoke, let out a startled scream. Then, she got angry. "You pervert, what are you doing in my room?" She swung up out of bed, but stumbled as she was expecting to be on her futon on the floor of her dorm room and not so high off the ground. Keitaro caught her to keep her from falling, which made her madder. "Let go of me you lecherous, despicable sex-fiend!"

Motoko then unsheathed her sword to use a boulder-cutting attack on Keitaro, who was promptly slammed into the stone wall. Unlike the Hinata Sou, these walls were much less forgiving and Keitaro saw spots dance before his eyes. As he laid crumpled on the floor.

"Are you going to try to explain yourself?" Motoko icily asked as she laid the tip of her blade by Keitaro's neck.

Keitaro had to shake his head clear, cautious of the sharp edge upon his neck. "Just worried you might have been hurt."

"Why would I..." Motoko trailed off. The memories of what occurred before her forced sleep coming to her. She finally noticed her surroundings. Putting her sword away, she stoically sat down on her stone cot.

Keitaro remained sitting on the floor. "So ... what do we do when we need to ... er ... relieve ourselves?"

Motoko glared at him. "What a disgusting, perverted question." Her hand descended towards her sword as she contemplated using it.

Keitaro shrugged. "Think they will feed us?"

"With what? Sand? I doubt nothing we'd find edible or nutritious grows or lives here. If we are lucky, they'll poison us swiftly and surely to end our misery."

Keitaro frowned in Motoko's direction. She was studiously looking away, refusing to meet his eyes. Keitaro knew that the past few days had been tough on her. He too felt the worry, the stress, and the helplessness of their situation, of being stranded somewhere hostile with no hope of return. No food, no water, and nothing to do but walk aimlessly had taken their toll upon their morale. Keitaro just wished he knew what he could do to make things better.

"If it will make you happy, you can hit me some more."

Motoko quirked an eyebrow at him. "Thank you, but no. I wish to conserve my energy. Also, what if we are being observed by our captors?"

"What do they want with us?"

Motoko smirked evilly. "Maybe to serve us as an entrée to their king."

Keitaro gulped.

"Now, don't bother me. I must meditate." Motoko crossed her legs and sat lotus style upon her sleeping platform.

Keitaro sighed and got up off the floor so he could lounge upon his own stone bunk. Bored, his thoughts turned to what he would still be doing. He imagined doing his chores, laughing with his friends, and eating Shinobu's cooking. His stomach growled at the last thought. Motoko's stomach growled in agreement.

"Look at what you started," Motoko complained, but the smile she was fighting to hide took the sting out of her words.

"Heh, sorry,"Keitaro replied. Keitaro studied Motoko for a moment before staring at his feet. "Motoko?"

"Yes, Keitaro." She had used his first name again. That didn't occur too often these past few days, but Keitaro knew it was a sign Motoko was feeling sorry for herself. An emotion that he too shared.

"I miss our friends. I wish we were home again."

Motoko looked over at him. "Me too, Keitaro. You know that we won't ever see home again, right?"

Keitaro nodded. "Yeah, I figured. At first, I was hoping Su would come to the rescue with another one of her doodads. But now, I fear that if they tried they would probably end up someplace even worse. I don't think anyone is coming for us."

"I don't think so either. How would they know where we even are? I never imagined that this was how I was going to die."

Keitaro glanced at Motoko, catching her sad eyes with his own. "I don't want to die. I'm not ready yet; there's so much more that I want to do."

"Yeah, same here," came her melancholy reply. Once more, the two lapsed into silence.

"Urashima ... Keitaro?"

"Yeah, Motoko?"

"If ... I ... I'm happy it was you I got stuck with. I don't think I could have made it on my own."

"Thanks. And ditto. If only there was a bucket or something; I gotta pee!"

"Hold it in, Urashima. Be a man and suck it up."

Keitaro's head dropped in frustration. "I'll try," he whispered in melancholy.

Keitaro didn't know how long he sat there trying not to think about how full his bladder felt when relief finally appeared. A section of the glittering wall opened up and in slid a hovering tray. On the tray was a white block and two vase-like jars or jugs. The containers were gently curved with a medium-wide mouth and looked to be able to hold five or six liters, by Keitaro's estimation. The two captives got up to investigate. They found one was full of liquid and the other one was empty.

"Aha!" Keitaro crowed in delight as he lifted the empty jug overhead. "Finally." He then ran to a corner on the opposite wall, placed the jar down, unzipped his pants, and relieved himself."

Motoko rolled her eyes but kept silent; she knew it was better than the nothing they had before. "I do not look forward to this place smelling like piss," she grumbled.

With the block in hand, she sniffed it, but it was odorless. A tentative lick told her it was very salty. "A block of salt. Must be to replenish what we lost through sweat."

A finger dipped into the liquid was tasted, revealing that it seemed to be clean water.

A lick of the salt, Motoko knew overdoing it would be bad and cause dehydration, and a few gulps of the water did wonders for her spirit. She felt more refreshed.

With a sight of relief, "Ahhhh!" Keitaro zipped his pants. He then turned around to return to the tray and Motoko.

"Water," she answered his questioning gaze.

"And the hunk of rock?"

"Salt. Don't try too much, you only need a little."

Keitaro nodded, nibbled a small corner off, and washed it down with some of the water. Drinking out of the vase like bottle was awkward for him, but Keitaro managed.

"Too bad there isn't more water, I could use a bath. All of this sand itches," Keitaro observed.

Motoko nodded. "Agreed. Unfortunately, we don't know how frequently they'll provide us with such refreshment. We will have to ration it carefully."

Keitaro sat down on the floor, feeling better than he had in days. "What I wouldn't give for some solid food right now. I'd even eat one of Naru's sandwiches."

"Rice and roasted vegetables would be pleasant to have," Motoko mused.

Keitaro snorted. "Give me a beef bowl instead. Oh how I love a good beef bowl; the flavors, the noodles, and how it fills me up and warms me on a cold winter's day."

The two sighed and lapsed into silence, both daydreaming about food.

Keitaro was staring at the block of salt. He knew it would be bad to eat, but it was also the only solid thing to eat. "I see what you are looking at. I won't let you waste it by foolishly eating it. That salt can last us a long, long time," Motoko warned her cell-mate.

"I wasn't going to eat it. I was just looking."

Motoko quirked an eyebrow; she did not believe him.

Something else on the tray caught Keitaro's eye. It looked like two pills. "Hey, what do we have here?" Keitaro got up and stooped by the tray. He picked one up to get a closer look. It was a soft, jelly like pill about half as long as his pinky. The pill was a transparent amber in color and shaped strangely; instead of smooth curves, it was angular and faceted like a strange gem.

"What do you have there?"

"I don't know, but there is one for each of us."

"Well, if it is poison, let's get it over with," Motoko commented with an evil grin.

Keitaro handed her one of the pills. "Er... OK!" He popped his pill. It immediately burst open upon his tongue into a tasteless, oily mass of thick fluid. "Blargh," he complained after swallowing, "that tastes awful."

After a minute, when Keitaro showed no adverse reactions, Motoko finally swallowed her pill. Other than grimacing, she made no complaint.

"I wonder what that was for?" Motoko mused out loud.

It was not long before the two found out what the pill did and what the empty jar was for; the pill was a powerful laxative.

* * *

Later, Keitaro was lying on his cot nursing some bruises. Motoko had no choice but to go, and dealt with the lack of privacy severely – for Keitaro. Her wrath was tempered only by the necessity for Keitaro to remain living enough to keep herself alive. After some time – Keitaro's watch had stop working a couple days prior, so he had no knowledge of the exact length of time – the two were both emptied out and the frequent urges had passed. Keitaro did not know how long they were awake for. Time seemed to drag by; boredom and the laxatives also sapped his energy. He just laid there on his cot, waiting for sleep to claim him as Motoko was doing on her cot. And as he laid bored and exhausted, full of ennui and lethargy, his stomach rumbled. The water, while refreshing, was not filling.

He swung his feet to get out of bed. Keitaro thought to himself, "a sip of water ought to give me something to do."

"Want any water, Motoko?"

A grunt was her only reply. Keitaro itched his bare chest, Motoko had demanded that he sacrifice his shirt and undershirt so that the two had something to wipe with. His shirt now laid in a corner of the cell.

"Hey, Motoko?" Keitaro took a couple of steps toward her bunk and tripped on his own feet. He bodily fell on top of her prone form.

"You lecherous, perverted molester," Motoko raged as she began to beat upon him. Keitaro fell back into a defensive huddle, covering himself with his arms as best as he could.

"Sorry, I tripped – I'm not in the best of shape ..."

Motoko screamed on, "Just because you're the last man ..." Motoko's anger lost its energy and she sunk to her knees.

Keitaro was concerned; Motoko looked so lost and sad.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in a voice full of defeat and melancholy.

"What for?" Keitaro asked gently.

Motoko sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm always yelling at you, but I'm the weak one. You don't take your fears out on me; instead you try to take care of me, though I deserve it not. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. And I hate myself for being so weak." Motoko fell forwards; leaning in to snare Keitaro in a tight embrace. She began to cry into his shoulders as she held him close.

"There, there," Keitaro soothed.

After a few minutes, Motoko collected herself. She wiped her eyes and refused to look at Keitaro. Getting up, she acted like nothing happened. "We better get some sleep, Urashima." She then laid down on her platform.

Keitaro returned to his rigid cot. Wiping the tears off his arms and chest, he stretched out, resting his head on his arms, and stared at the nondescript ceiling. With a sigh, he remembered that he still hadn't had any water to drink yet. Getting up once more, he ignored and avoided Motoko as he got himself a drink.

"Don't drink it all, we may not get any more," Motoko cautioned him from where she laid, with her eyes still closed.

Keitaro merely grunted in reply as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Returning to his bed, he laid down once more. At some point, he slipped into a light sleep that grew deeper. Lurid dreams, strange and alien, haunted his sleep. At one point, he dreamed of fantastical creatures hovering around him as they chittered in an incomprehensible language that vaguely reminded him of squirrels and ducks. They seemed to be doing something to his back, as he laid face down on a sweet and cloying smelling gummy pillow. However, Keitaro couldn't be too sure as his back felt distant and dull, but not completely numb. In fact, all of his senses seemed to be muffled. His eyes focused upon another group of aliens nearby; they were clustered into their own little group. They held strange tools. One even held what seemed to be a long, transparent worm with two rows of twitching, fleshy appendages. The group shifted, and Keitaro could see that they surrounded a sleeping Motoko. The worm was being lowered towards her back, where blood was running down her side. Keitaro gasped and the strange chattering arose once more near his ear. An orange-yellow cloud appeared and Keitaro dreamed that his eyes grew heavy once more.

The first dream faded to be replaced by another. Keitaro found himself in a strange pastoral scene. Cherry trees were in full bloom, flowers of all colors dotted the grassy field, and birds flew overhead. Keitaro recognized the main park from Hinata Springs. His friends, the girls of Hinata Dorms, Shirai and Haitani, and Haruka, were all there too. Keitaro remembered, "That's right! The Cherry Blossom Festival. I must have dozed off and dreamt all about that alien planet." Happy that it was all just a dream, Keitaro returned to celebrating the holiday.

Keitaro awoke with a start to find himself in the cell again. "Finally woke up, I see. How lazy can you get?" Motoko was sitting on her side of the cell. She was bored and happy that Keitaro woke up so that she now had someone to pass the time with.

Keitaro swung himself off of his bed to take a leak, only to find that the pot and his soiled shirts were gone. "Where's the toilet-vase?"

"They took the salt and water, too," Motoko answered. "At least the cell doesn't smell as bad."

Keitaro agreed. The lack of bathing and the stench from the chamber pot was disgusting him too. He had felt unclean and it demoralized him. Thinking about it, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his skin seemed clean now. He was unable to see any sand nor had he felt any itching. He was even wearing some sort of strange garment in place of his dirty clothes. It didn't seem to be woven from any sort of fiber. Instead it felt more like some sort of breathable plastic. It was mottled brown and not very comfortable. It hung on his frame like a gown or a dress, cinched at his neck and with holes cut for his arms. It lacked sleeves, though, and the cinching was done by a strange, slick, plastic cord held tight by a sort of clamp.

"When did we ... no, how did they change our clothes without us waking up?" Keitaro had a nagging feeling in his head, just out of grasp. It was like he knew he had forgotten something, but had no idea what he could have forgotten.

"I ..." Motoko turned her head away and blushed bashfully. "I don't know." Motoko did know, though, that it was twice now that their captors handled them and she wasn't awake for it. She felt helpless, and powerless, and that upset her. She did not like feeling powerless and helpless. She also felt embarrassed that some thing, or things, saw her naked.

"My back feels funny, though," she commented to change the subject.

Keitaro frowned. There was something about that statement that he thought meant something more, but he couldn't puzzle out what. "Mine feels a little stiff. Maybe it is the bed?" He didn't sound very convinced, though.

"Is it me, or does the air seem ... better?"

Keitaro sniffed the air before inhaling deeply. "It does seem crisper. And I feel a lot better too, more energetic. Maybe it's the clean inside air without all that sand?"

Motoko nodded in thought. "Actually, I think it is more than just that. It even smells different than before in some indescribable way. I think there's more oxygen in it, now."

"But what does that mean? Why now? Why not before?"

Motoko shook her head. She didn't like being in the dark about her possible survival. "I don't know if we could understand what ever it is that lives here. They could have figured out our needs while they cleaned us up. I'm just not sure how. And it worries me that if it was by trial and error, what some of their ideas to try might have been. We might be very lucky to be alive now. If we are lab rats, who knows how long that luck might last. I think I'll maintain our link for now, for I am unsure what the future may bring."

Keitaro shuddered. The idea that they were just some interesting specimen to some alien intelligence that might regard them as little better than he regarded bugs took hold in Keitaro's mind. It wasn't a very pleasant future that his imagination painted for him.

"Well ... what am I suppose to do without a toilet?"

Motoko made a disgusted expression. "Hold it in, of course. Are you a man or aren't you?"

Seemingly in reply, the wall opened up once more and another hovering tray floated in with two vases on top. Keitaro sighed in relief; he wasn't sure how long he could have held anything in. However, his relief was short lived. The opening grew and widened to allow in an alien being.

"Polite greetings, visitors." The alien was a shocking sight to the duo. It was taller then either of them. Its head was bald, and its leathery brown skin had a velvety texture to it. Two wide-set, large eyes sat at the corners of its long, narrow face. They did not quite sit on the sides, but neither were they on the front facing forwards. Instead they seemed to face outwards. They were a solid black in color. A third, much smaller eye sat high on its face upon the centerline. A long trunk or proboscis like nose hung down from the face, though the two Earthlings were assuming it functioned anything like a nose. The alien wore a robe made from the same material as their gown. But the most surprising and uncanny feature that set the duo at unease was that while the alien had a round, leech like mouth, it did not seem to talk to them at all using any lip movement.

"How ... how do you know our language?" Keitaro asked timidly. "How are you talking to us. What are you?"

"Calm." The entity said in a serene voice as it made soothing gestures with its limbs. Highly articulated, multi-jointed limbs that ended in something that were most definitely not hands.

Keitaro glanced sideways at Motoko, who returned the gesture. She was immediately on her guard, but she refrained from any overt signs of intimidation. She knew she was at a disadvantage and didn't want to make things worse.

"Learn still your tongue. Speak with mind-talk. Gave you mind-talk worms. Study you we did. Study you still. Want meet you now. Polite meet up."

Motoko puzzled over the words. "Mind-talk? You mean like telepathy?"

"Yes... need time to learn. Talk later, bring food. Good meet up. Polite partings." The being then stepped backwards and the wall resealed.

The two inmates looked at each other in concern. "What was that about?" Keitaro asked as he shook his head in confusion.

Motoko shrugged. "I'm not sure. I guess ... they have been trying to telepathically study us, perhaps to learn our language."

"But why come in to say so little?"

"Maybe they want us to speak more, to each other. So they can learn more. We have been mostly quiet."

Keitaro nodded. "Not much to say, is there? But I guess we could talk more."

Motoko sighed. "It'll help pass the time."

"Right," Keitaro agreed, "but first I'm going to use the empty vase." He grabbed a vase from the tray and went off into the corner to allow biology to run its course.

Motoko rolled her eyes. "I wonder what do they do to lab rats once they learn all they want from them."


End file.
